Not to mention, because it has not yet been determined whether the special diplomatic liar Yang Hong's mission to Jizhou will succeed, and Xun Yu on behalf of Cao Boss to open the armistice conditions, Tao Ying and Lu Su are really a little tempted, and feel that this is indeed a sure deal, first make an alliance with Cao Boss, and after the fall of Lu Bu, Xuzhou's northern line will not have to worry too much, if Cao Boss comes forward to promote the alliance of Tao Yuan and Cao, then Xuzhou's northern line is equivalent to double insurance, and the Xuzhou army in the steady recovery of overall strength can also free up their hands, Take those rookies on the southern front and ask for it.

And there is another point, compared to the notoriously capricious Lu Bu, Boss Cao, who is known as the annihilator of the troubled times, at least talks about some rules, as well as some reason and credit, at least not like Lu Wenhou who often gets into the water in his head, and can poison his allies for no reason, making it impossible to figure out and guess Lu Wenhou's code of conduct. Therefore, an alliance with Cao Lao Datong is undoubtedly a hundred times better than an alliance with Lu Wenhou.

Seeing that Tao Ying and Lu Su were silent but their eyes were rolling, Xun Yu was also a little nervous, and said with a smile: "Tao Envoy Jun, forgive me for slandering others behind my back, compared to making an alliance with Lu Wenhou and making an alliance with my lord Cao Gongtong, Tao Envoy Jun may be more down-to-earth, right?" At the very least, my lord Cao Gong will still be afraid of the world's scolding, whether Wen Hou will care about this reputation, Tao Yuanjun should know better in his heart than in his heart. ”

Tao Ying didn't answer, and gently tapped the case in front of him with his fingers, and after a long time, Tao Ying suddenly smiled and said: "People say that Meng Degong is cheating, and now it is true." A good plan to delay the army, if he agrees to Meng Degong's conditions and concludes an alliance with Meng Degong, Meng Degong may really send Yuan Gong to come forward to match the three alliances of Cao Yuan and Tao - but during this period, if Meng Degong goes all out to take Changyi City, then Meng Degong will not be able to match the three alliances, and he will only suffer a dumb loss. ”

"Indeed!" Lu Su's heart sank, the secret lord is reasonable, if the lord and Cao Ying truce and form an alliance now, Cao Ying may abide by his promise to come forward to match the three alliances, but during this period, our army is limited by the alliance, and it will not be able to stop Cao Ying from attacking Lu Wenhou with all his might, and when Lu Bu is destroyed, then the initiative will immediately be transferred to Cao Ying's hands, the three alliances cannot be reached, and our army is helpless to take Cao Ying.

"Huh." Xun Yu also smiled and said, "People say that Tao makes you suspicious, and it is true today." However, please rest assured, my lord Cao Gong has also taken into account this worry of the envoy, so my lord Cao Gong can add an article to the covenant - before my lord Cao Gong promotes the alliance of Tao Yuan and Cao, our army guarantees to only besiege Lu Wenhou, and then if the three alliances can be promoted, Tao Envoy Jun you withdraw our troops to attack the city, if the three alliances cannot be reached, Tao Envoy Jun you have the right to tear up the alliance between you and me, and send troops to rescue Lu Wenhou. ”

Tao Ying and Lu Su glanced at each other again, and each saw the satisfied look in each other's eyes, and secretly said that Cao Ying could even take the initiative to put forward such favorable conditions for our army, and it seemed that this time he was really full of sincerity.

"Tao Envoy-kun, do you still need to hesitate?" Xun Yu asked slowly: "If there are any additional conditions for the envoy, you can just put it forward, and my lord Cao Gong can try his best to meet them." The five counties of Xuzhou are now worry-free, and in order to eliminate the last hidden danger in the eight counties of Yanzhou, my lord Cao Gong can show all sincerity. ”

Tao Ying didn't answer, just turned his head to look at Lu Su, Lu Su thought for a long time, and finally nodded slightly, saying that he agreed to accept this peace agreement, but Deputy Director Tao's deceitful and cautious was not covered, and after thinking for a long time, Tao Ying still replied: "Mr. Wen Ruo, Meng Degong's conditions are indeed very tempting, but after careful consideration, I must give Mr. Wen Ruo and Meng Degong a reply." ”

"The king is really cautious." Xun Yu smiled, got up and said: "Okay, so that you can think about it slowly, when you have made up your mind, you can send an envoy to our army camp at any time to contact, and you will definitely follow suit in the next order to make Jun stumble to meet him." Okay, Xie Tao sent the king wine, and the military affairs were busy, so Xun Yu took his leave first. ”

Seeing that Xun Yu was leaving, Tao Ying and Lu Su of course did not dare to stay, but they just pretended to stay, but Xun Yu insisted on leaving, Tao Ying and Lu Su had no choice but to personally send Xun Yu out of the camp and say goodbye to Xun Yu. However, when Xun Yu got on the horse and set off, Tao Ying suddenly said: "Mr. Wenruo, I have heard for a long time that the Xun family of Yingchuan has produced many talents, and the princes of the division have to be reused, but Xuzhou has not won the Xun family. ”

Xun Yu strangled the war horse, and said in his heart that this kid was really smart, and he actually saw the plan of our Xun family to bet separately to ensure the longevity of the family, and then Xun Yu turned the horse's head again, and smiled at Tao Ying on the horse: "Please rest assured, so that the king is so thirsty for talent, and so young and promising, and famous, if you can take advantage of the wealth of Xuzhou, to feed the officials, appease the people, and make them work in peace, I believe that in a few years, when the time is ripe, Xun Yu will not recommend it, and the people of the Xun family will take the initiative to vote for the monarch." ”

"In other words, my strength in Xuzhou has not yet entered the eyes of your Xun clan?" Tao Ying muttered in his heart, and said with a smile on his face: "Thank you Mr. Wenruo for your guidance, Tao Ying will definitely redouble his efforts and strive to win the favor of the Xun family as soon as possible." Xun Yu smiled and bowed his hand, stopped talking, turned the horse's head and went north, Tao Ying and Lu Su said goodbye in front of the big camp gate, and did not return to the Chinese army's big tent to discuss until Xun Yu walked away.

It was also back to the big tent of the Chinese army, and Lu Su, who was very calm, asked Tao Ying: "Lord, Cao Ying sent Xun Yu to ask for peace and alliance, his intention is very sincere, if the lord promises, even if Yang Hong asks Yuan Shao for an alliance, the northern line of Xuzhou can also be temporarily secured." This matter is in line with the interests of Xuzhou, and the lord has always acted decisively, so why is it unusual, and he has to hesitate to consider it. ”

"Zijing, you only see the strategic level, not the tactical level." Tao Ying sighed and explained: "Actually, this is still Cao Thief's strategy to delay the army, Cao Thief said it well, before promoting the alliance of Tao Yuan and Cao, he will never attack Changyi City, and if it doesn't work, he will exchange tactics for our army - but during this period, after Cao Thief took the opportunity to transport a large number of grain and grass from the rear, what else did our army use to grasp the tactical initiative?" In a head-on decisive battle, how sure is our army that we can rescue Lu Bu? ”

"And the Cao thieves besieged the city, the grain and grass in Changyi City is also decreasing, in fact, it does not delay the most beneficial siege tactics for Cao thieves, at that time, our army's frontal attack is not the opponent of Cao thieves, and it is useless to cut off the Cao thief's grain route, and Changyi City can not hold on for a long time because of the problem of grain and grass, and the tactical initiative is still firmly in the hands of Cao thieves.

Listening to Tao Ying's explanation, Lu Su, who was not good at tactics, came to his senses and exclaimed: "It's so dangerous, if it weren't for the master's alertness and seeing through Cao Thief's clever plan, the biggest advantage of our army would have to be handed over, and all the arrangements of the previous lord would have to be wasted." ”

"No, it's not that I'm alert, it's that I know too well what Cao Thief wants." Tao Ying shook his head and said with a gloomy expression: "If Cao Thief makes a fuss in other aspects, maybe I won't be able to see through his cunning, but it's a pity that he wants to make a fuss about Yuan Shao, which makes me not believe any of Xun Yu's words from the beginning." "The lord didn't believe any of Xun Yu's words from the beginning?" Lu Su asked in surprise.

Tao Ying nodded, and snorted coldly: "Cao Thief is in the gap between our army and Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao in the north he doesn't dare to provoke now, Luoyang in the west has gone through the Yellow Turban and Dong Zhuo Rebellion, and the vitality has long been injured and can no longer be injured, and there is not much oil and water to fish down, and as long as Li Dao and Guo Yan do not have internal problems, Cao Thief may not be their opponent." Only the five counties of Xuzhou in the south are rich in oil and water and relatively important, and they are the first choice for Cao Thief to expand his territory in the next step, if our army forms an alliance with Yuan Shao, once Cao Thief sends troops to Xuzhou, it is possible to attract a north-south attack, which is extremely unfavorable to the situation of Cao Thief, and Cao Thief is not stupid, how can it really promote our army to form an alliance with Yuan Shao? If he doesn't destroy it with all his might, he will already be a thief with water in his head! ”

Lu Su nodded silently, feeling that Tao Ying's words were reasonable, and he felt that compared with slippery heads like Cao Ying and Tao Ying, he was like an honest child. After nodding, Lu Su asked again: "Lord, since you have seen through the tricks of the Cao thief, what should we do next?" ”

"That's a real thing for me to think about." Tao Ying frowned and replied: "This matter is too wide, and the situation is too complicated, I must carefully weigh the pros and cons before I can make up my mind, otherwise, if I take a slight wrong step now, the consequences will be unimaginable." ”

God finally made it difficult for the hateful Deputy Director Tao once, and it took a lot of time to sort out the various related involvements, and he was beginning to think about how to fish in the muddy waters to get the most benefits, and a herald came in outside the tent to disturb him, saying that there was another envoy from Cao Jun asking to see him, and that there was an important matter to report to Tao Ying. Hearing this, Tao Ying and Lu Su inevitably looked at each other again, wondering why they had just sent away a Cao army envoy, and in less than an hour, another Cao army envoy came? Within an hour, it is impossible for Xun Yu to send the news to the Cao army camp a hundred miles away?

Surprised, Tao Ying Shao hurriedly ordered to summon the envoy of Cao Jun, this time the messenger sent by Cao Boss was a typical nobody, the name Tao Ying and Lu Su had never heard of it, and after saluting Tao Ying, this nobody immediately took out a letter, and said mysteriously: "Tao Envoy, this is the letter that my lord Cao Gong ordered the little envoy to dedicate to the envoy, my lord said that as long as the envoy reads this letter, he will understand everything." ”

With Tao Ying's permission, the guard in the tent forwarded the letter to Tao Ying, and after opening the letter and looking at it, Tao Ying was first taken aback, and then when he looked at the content of the letter carefully, Tao Ying's face began to gradually become solemn, and the nobody was also secretly nervous, and his heart was weak and timid, even an honest person like Lu Su was a little strange, "This Cao Jun envoy, why is he quietly clenching his fists and relaxing?" There is no precedent for the Xuzhou army to kill the envoy, what does he have to be nervous about? ”

After reading the letter carefully, Tao Ying did not hand the letter to Lu Su, but closed the letter and closed his eyes and carefully calculated, the nobody was even more nervous, and even his legs were trembling slightly, fortunately, Tao Ying did not order the execution, and after a long time, he reopened the letter, turned it over and looked at it carefully. After a long time, Tao Ying suddenly slapped the table in front of him and roared angrily: "Lu Bupifu, dare to do this!" ”

"My lord, why are you so angry?" Lu Su asked in surprise.

"Look!" Tao Ying angrily threw the letter to Lu Su and roared: "I kindly came to save him Lu Bu Pifu, this Pifu dared to secretly ask for peace with Cao Thief, and was ready to pretend to break through the siege to trick me into leading the army to save him, and then stab me to death with a halberd on the battlefield!" Take my head and exchange Xuzhou's Donghai and Langya two counties for a foothold! ”

Roaring, Tao Ying was still furious and flipped over the table in front of him, and roared wildly: "Lu Bu Lao'er, shameless, I won't kill you, I swear not to be a person!" ”

It was rare to see Tao Ying so angry, Lu Su was inevitably even more surprised and nervous, and quickly picked up the letter and looked at it carefully, and immediately found that this letter turned out to be a letter written by Lu Bu to Cao Ying! And in the letter, Lu Bu also repeatedly provoked the revenge of Cao Boss and Lao Tao's family to kill his father, and begged Cao Ying to let Lu Bu's army go in a very humble tone, saying that as long as Cao Ying spared Lu Bu's army, Lu Bu was willing to use tricks to deceive Tao Ying to save Changyi, and took advantage of the meeting of the two armies to highlight a halberd to stab Tao Ying to death, and then Lu Bu said that as long as Tao Ying died, the five counties of Xuzhou were at the fingertips of Cao Boss, and Lu Bu was also willing to charge into battle for Cao Ying to seize the five counties of Xuzhou. The three counties of Xiapi and Guangling were owned by Cao Boss.

"Zijing, did you see that?" Tao Ying roared again, "How did I treat him Lu Bu Lao'er, and how did he Lu Bu Lao'er treat me?" This time we came to save Lu Bu'er, we were simply blind! ”

"Slow down, please calm down." Lu Su hurriedly stopped Tao Ying's roar, and turned his head to look at the messenger sent by Cao Ying, and found that this nobody was not only no longer nervous, but also had a look of secret joy on his face that could not be concealed by saying anything, Lu Su was suddenly even more suspicious in his heart, and shouted: "What kind of position do you have under Cao Ying?" What credentials do I have? ”

The nobody was startled by Lu Su's loud drink, and his face turned a little pale, but Tao Ying next to him roared, "Zijing, what do you care about him?" Lu Bu Lao'er will take revenge and intend to harm me, what do you say? ”

"My lord, this letter ......." Lu Su turned to Tao Ying again, and was about to remind Tao Ying to carefully distinguish the authenticity of the letter, but when the words came to his mouth, Lu Su, who had been completely damaged, suddenly changed his words and said: "Lord, I don't know what the purpose of Cao Ying sent someone to send Wen Hou's letter to my military camp?" ”

"Of course, let me see the true face of Lu Bu Lao'er clearly!" Tao Ying roared angrily, "Lu Bu Lao'er is notoriously capricious, how can Cao Thief dare to believe his so-called promises? That's why Cao Thief sent this letter to let me understand what kind of person Lu Bupifu is! Wolf! Immature jackals! ”

"Yes, yes, make you wise, just guess." The nobody nodded again and again, and explained: "My lord Cao Gong knows the surname of Lu Bu Pifu's jackal, and conspiring with him is tantamount to conspiring with the tiger, so he categorically rejected Lu Bu's proposal, and ordered the envoy to send Lu Bu's letter to Tao Envoy Jun, asking Tao Envoy Jun to see the ugly face of Lu Bu Pifu and consider what the consequences would be if he rescued Lu Bu. ”

Tao Ying snorted heavily, and kicked away the case that had been overturned again, obviously with anger in his chest. Lu Su sighed and said: "I really can't imagine that Lu Wenhou is so ungrateful, he will take revenge, the lord is kind enough to come to save him, but he wants to plot against the lord of Gongzhou County, what is the difference between such a ruthless and unrighteous person and a beast?" ”

"You go back and tell Cao Ying, just say that I owe him a favor for this!" Tao Ying pointed at the nobody, and shouted angrily: "Let him rest assured to attack the city, Lu Bupifu, I will never save it!" The nobody was overjoyed, and hurriedly took his leave.

………………………… The damned Deputy Director Tao finally didn't torture the poor Cao Boss this time, the day after Xun Yu returned to the Cao Army camp, the Cao Army camp ushered in the liaison messenger of the Xuzhou army - Song Kai, another special diplomatic liar of Deputy Director Tao, Cao Laoda, who was worried about how to temporarily stabilize the Xuzhou army, was overjoyed when he heard the news, and quickly ordered the soldiers to treat each other politely, and soon met Song Kai in person in the Chinese army's big tent to inquire about Tao Ying's reply.

To the disappointment of Boss Cao and Xun Yu, Tao Ying still did not fall into the trap of delaying the army carefully arranged by them this time, Song Kai gave the answer very frankly on behalf of Tao Ying, "Ming Gong, I'm really sorry, although my lord Tao Envoy Jun is very clear about Ming Gong's sincerity, and also knows Lu Wenhou's capricious surname, joining hands with him is tantamount to seeking skin with the tiger, but after all, my lord Tao Envoy Jun and Wen Hou have the love of Wen's son-in-law, and Wen Hou's beloved daughter also has a marriage contract, Lu Wenhou can be unrighteous, but my lord can't be unrighteous." Therefore, please forgive Ming Gong, my lord Tao envoy Jun cannot agree to Ming Gong's request for a good alliance. ”

Boss Cao's black face turned blue again, if it weren't for the scolding of the envoy, Boss Cao would have wanted to cut off Song Kai, the messenger of Deputy Director Tao who was kind enough to be a donkey's liver and lungs. After a long time, Boss Cao forced a smile and said: "Since Tao Envoy Jun is determined to be my enemy, then let's fight." Looking at Tao Ying's thief's kindness to Mr. Wen Ruo's sake, you go, I won't embarrass you, go back and tell Tao Ying thief, from now on, I and him, either he dies or I live! ”

"Xie Minggong's grace of not killing." Song Kai, who was actually very nervous in his heart, also knew that he had escaped death once, and after thanking him, Song Kai did not leave immediately, and said cautiously: "Duke Ming, my lord has a small request, I implore Ming to be gracious and allow the little envoy to go to Changyi City to meet with Lu Wenhou." ”

"Dreaming!" Dian Wei and Xiahoudun, who accompanied the reception, were furious together, and Xiahoudun roared: "Tao Ying's thief refuses my lord's kindness, and wants you to go to Changyi City to meet with Lu Bupifu and exchange news, you are dreaming!" Get out of here now, or don't blame us for being rude! ”

Boss Cao did not jump like thunder, because Boss Cao knew very well that with Tao Ying's cunning, it would be impossible for him to make a mistake after rejecting his kindness, and let the Xuzhou envoy go to Changyi City to communicate with Lu Bu. So Boss Cao immediately waved his hand to stop the angry Dian Wei and Xiahou Dun, and asked curiously: "Tao Ying sent you to meet Lu Bu under the city of Changyi, what are you doing?" ”

"Please rest assured that the little envoy is not going to exchange news with Lu Bu." Song Kai replied respectfully, and said another sentence that made Boss Cao and Cao Jun Wenwu stunned together, "My lord, order the envoy to go to the city of Changyi and read the letter of renunciation to Lu Wenhou in public!" ”

"Break up letters?" Boss Cao almost suspected that his ears had heard it wrong, and exclaimed, "What the hell is Tao Ying's thief?" rejected my kindness, and wanted to break off friendship with Lu Bu? ”

"Ming Gong, please rest assured, it is indeed a broken letter." Song Kai nodded, and said: "The surname of Lu Wenhou jackal is capricious, my lord spared him once and let him retreat, and this time he personally led a large army to rescue him, I never thought that Lu Wenhou not only refused to care about the slightest kindness, but repeatedly colluded with outsiders to harm my lord, and repeatedly tried to occupy the five counties of Xuzhou!" ”

"It's tolerable, it's unbearable, my lord's patience with Lu Wenhou has also reached the extreme, so this time, although my lord Tao Envoy Jun thought of Weng's son-in-law's affection, he refused to agree to make an alliance with Ming Gongtong, but he also refused to save such a vicious and ruthless person, and decided to break off the alliance with him! Refusing to make an alliance with the Duke of Ming is also the last time my lord repays the grace of Wen Hou's daughter, from now on, my lord and Lu Wen Hou will break off their righteousness and never communicate! ”

Looking at Boss Cao's stammering expression, Song Kai added, "Duke Ming, please rest assured, Duke Ming can send a sergeant to escort the envoy to the city of Changyi to meet with Marquis Wen, if the envoy has half a lie, the Duke of Ming can kill the envoy on the spot!" ”

(To be continued)